Fanboys: forget the critics, this is fun.

I saw Fanboys last night, finally. I must be the only geek on Earth who hadn't seen this movie in some stage of unfinishedness. Every time I was at Comic Con when they sneak-previewed it in one form or another something was going on I wanted to see more. I went there with a scruffy band of 501st Legion and Rebel Legion fanboys and fangirls who were invited to troop around a little in costume in the lobby of the Mann's Chinese 6 theatre. (This is of course not to be confused with the main screen at the complex, the legendary Grauman's Chinese, where I saw Star Wars 30 ahem ahem years ago during its first run.)

The critics seem to have a real need to pan this movie. I can't understand why. Nobody was expecting Citizen frakkin' Kane out of this movie. It's a silly comedy about three fanboys and one fangirl who never grew up, and their friend who is pondering whether or not to grow up.

Yes, the cancer sub-plot is back, handled with a surprisingly light and sensitive touch. It's there, it provides the impetus and the "why" for the road trip, and yeah, it got my heartstrings a couple of times. If the subplot was taken out of the movie, as was the danger for a while, the story becomes one of a bunch of self-centered lamers wanting to be the first geeks to see Episode I. It would have ruined it completely, and whatever affection you feel for these characters would have been gone. Thankfully the Weinsteins listened to the fans and put the plot back in.

The movie that is the real paen to the wonder of blockbuster Sci-Fi movies of the '70s is still not out yet: that's Patrick Read Johnson's 77 (formerly 5-25-77) which seems to be constantly beset with disappointments and deals falling through constantly. I saw that at Celebration IV (on 5-25-07, no less!) and even in its rough state it was a charming, engrossing and thoroughly heartfelt coming of age story that might be more the droid the critics were looking for.

Oh yeah, one other thing about Fanboys. The subplot about rivalry between Star Wars fandom and Star Trek fandom is just not rooted in reality. As we all hung out in the lobby, some in costume, some not, we were talking about how the JJ Abrams reboot of Star Trek was something we all were looking forward to. It makes for some funny scenes, but the biggest cheap shots were also part of this subplot. It was unnecessary to move the plot forward and only served to inject a few chase scenes and fight scenes too many.

Aside from that, Fanboys will only disappoint if you are expecting something more than a silly movie about geeky people. It helps if you are a fannish type yourself.

Send in the Clones...

Well, it looks like the CGI animated Clone Wars movie is getting pasted in the press. It's at 23% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. And it doesn't look good for reviews from the rest of the folks who are actually honoring the Warner Bros. embargo on reviews.

This reporter saw Clone Wars, and actually didn't think it was as horrible as some of the early reviews suggest. It is no Empire Strikes Back, it is no Revenge of the Sith. And it is CERTAINLY not as enjoyable as Genndy Tartakovsky's original Clone Wars shorts that made me a Star Wars fangirl again.

Ahsoka Tano is annoying. She's basically Kim Possible with a lightsabre: a wish fulfillment "Mary Sue" character geared at getting little girls more interested in the franchise. The animation is ugly, and reminiscent of cutscenes in a Star Wars video game. But Dave Filoni, late of Avatar: The Last Airbender and his crew do a yeoman job telling a tale of Sith duplicity and Hutt revenge. I even got a few lulz from Jabba's very, very FABULOUS uncle Zero...they should have gone all the way to "no closet can hold me" mode and gotten Richard Simmons to do the voice.

Basically look at Clone Wars this way...it's a popcorn movie. It will prolly be best savored at home where the worst parts of it can be shamelessly MST-ed. However, if you are looking for a way to kill an hour and a half under quality air conditioning and check your higher cerebral faculties at the door, I can think of worse ways of doing it.

Cartoon Geeks Podcast for June is up! (Well, almost)

Due to technical difficulties, the June podcast has been withdrawn.

We will be uploading a newer and better version very, very soon.

Please bear with us, thanks!

Michelle "Ms. Geek" Klein-Hass

The big news at Celebration IV

Right here, gentle readers. Clone Wars, the series.

The Force is strong with this one. Very, very, VERY strong. If anything, the CGI in this makes more sense than the CGI in the Prequel Trilogy because it doesn't look as alien and lifeless as it did when it was added to live action animation.

I like the fact they have purposely made the character designs reminiscent of Genndy Tartakovsky's drawn character designs for the Clone Wars shorts. They also are reminiscent of Gentle Giant's Star Wars maquettes.

This, and the live-action teen comedy 5-25-77, are the things that make me say "impressive, most impressive" at this biennial fan confab. Hopefully we'll get to cover these on the Cartoon Geeks podcast in future episodes.